DEVLAB

You know, I feel bad giving this two stars. I mean, I don't like it at all. That's fair enough. But I know that this stuff does exactly what Devin wants it to do, and it's a marvel in production and recording techniques or something. What we have here is a lot of noise dedicated to imitating a fever-dream. It does, too. It makes you feel kind of woozy and confused, with a touch of nausea now and then.

I have never really been a fan of noise or drone music or whatever all that stuff is. I usually like music with my music. But there is still something inherently fascinating about Devlab. I've listened to it a bunch of times, trying to figure out what it is about this album that keeps making me click on track number one. I subject myself again and again to this hour-long mash of noise and grating ambiance. Obviously, something about it is good, but I can't understand what. Devin put his heart and soul into this project, and I can see where his work paid off.

In all, though, this is an album just for serious fans or noise junkies. You have to be pretty patient with Mr. Townsend to really get much out of this album aside from a headache.